Good-bye white shoes?
September 4, 2006
I grew up being repeatedly told not to wear white shoes after Labor Day – ever!!! It was considered almost as bad as routingrooting for the Yankees – sacreligious (go Red Sox)! White pocketbooks – Goodwill or bye bye until next year. White pants – back to the clothes storage trunk. Now that I’ve lived all over the US, I wonder how true this fashion diva rule applies anymore? If you read me regularly (if you don’t I’ll have my mother harrass you until you do), you know this is not a “pundit” type blog (I had to look Pundit up in the dictionary), this is not an essay style blog (more wham bam thank you m’am or sir), this is no wannabe journalism blog (way too many of those – big yawn), this is not a blog where you will see a ton of research (I already survived a thesis thank you), but this pondering Sex in the City type question was really driving me nuts (more than normal), so I had to go out of my comfort (lazy) zone and do a little research.
I know, by now you are saying to yourself, Greta, please tell me the answer I have to know what to do with those beautiful white stilettos in my closet, so here is the research and my personal conclusion…
At Manolo’s Shoe Blog the answer is clearly sure, if you have great shoes – by all means wear them!
The Etiquette Grrrls.com say 1 a) “Can I wear White Shoes / Linen / Sandals / Straw Handbags / Seersucker / Other Warm-Weather Clothing before Memorial Day or after Labor Day?”
Nope. Unless you want to look like a Fashion Victim, that is. We’ll make an exception for Brides and Nurses on the White Shoes, and for Monks on the Sandals, but in all other cases, the answer is a firm no.
The Queen of West Procrastination is rebelling and only wearing white.
Becky a kindergarten teacher is hanging them up for the winter.
Everything 2 says
Wearing white shoes after Labor Day is considered a fashion no-no. It’s not a good idea, and something your mother should have taught you. Supposedly white is not a fall color.
Apparently the young people don’t know this, or maybe fashion has changed.
Most people will remember this fashion rule after seeing the movie “Serial Mom.” The director used this fashion rule to show how ludicrous the Mom/plot/society is. According to a critic, it was a plot device to advance “an uproariously witty satire on ‘petty’ bourgeois American values.” In other words, she beats the white-shoe-wearer senseless.
GRETA: Well, I guess I am brainwashed and just can’t do it. As a matter of fact I never wear white shoes anymore so it is a non-issue from me. If you decide you have to wear your white sshoes, don’t be sad when you end up on the back of Glamour with a black bar over your face. But truly, do you really give a rat’s what anyone else thinks???
Posted in Greta, Just For Yucks, This & That
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September 4th, 2006 at 10:35 pm
[...] Good-bye white shoes? [...]
September 4th, 2006 at 11:13 pm
Greta –
Wow! Nice job on the site design! It would seem that I have been away for too long.
Anyhow, I am back and would love to have you visit some time (and maybe get me BACK on your blogroll!
I have redesigned my site as well and look forward to our exchanges in the future.
Blog On !!!
Timmer
September 5th, 2006 at 12:25 am
Fashion is the slave driver of the American public. I wear wear socks with sandals. I don’t care. I still wear the flannel lumberjack jacket that was popular in the 90’s. I don’t care. I wear shorts in Winter. I don’t care. I’m no puppet of fashion.
September 5th, 2006 at 5:20 am
I will white on Christmas Morning if I feel like it. I’m not letting some nut case in the fashion industry tell me what I can or cannot wear !!!
September 5th, 2006 at 5:20 am
Ack I mean to say “I will -wear- white …”
September 5th, 2006 at 8:15 am
I have not owned a pair of white shoes since about 1975.
In fact, I don’t have a white purse, straw purse or anything like that!
I will wear my sandals when it’s hot, no matter what time of year it is.
Of course, I am hardly a slave to fashion, as you know, but these rules are so silly.
Courtesy is one thing – rules for what color you can wear when is quite another.
September 5th, 2006 at 8:55 am
the only white shoes i have are sneakers
September 5th, 2006 at 10:14 am
so no white flip flops anymore?
BTW, y’all are missing a DIV tag somewhere in hooahwife 3 template for comments.
September 5th, 2006 at 10:32 am
I’m a die-hard too–no white shoes after Labor Day. Of course, I don’t wear white shoes anyway. Except sneakers.
Ditto what Teach said–I had to switch themes to comment.
September 5th, 2006 at 11:09 am
What is a nurse to do? Go barefoot? That does not seem hygenic?
Wear whatever you want.
September 5th, 2006 at 11:14 am
I assume you mean “rooting” for the Yankees..
September 5th, 2006 at 4:08 pm
How’s that look for everyone?
September 5th, 2006 at 8:20 pm
After seeing what teenagers wear to school AND church, I hardly would be offended by white shoes after Labor Day. I own shoes of many colors and the common denuminator is comfort. Most of the fashions today are too junky (beads, bangles, zippers, rips, artwork, etc) for my taste anyway.
Just give me comfortable and easy care and I’ll buy it.
September 5th, 2006 at 8:54 pm
Chevy Rose – I suggest Born shoes – they kick butt!
September 5th, 2006 at 9:40 pm
Anyone can wear anything nowadays. But in days of yore, there were RULES. One of my friends went to a job interview in New York City wearing a nice pair of white pumps. She was asked, “You’re not a New Yorker, are you?” She admitted as much and asked how they knew. “New Yorkers never wear white shoes.”
She didn’t get the job. So I never wore white shoes again. Until recently.
As I recall that movie Serial Mom, she murdered someone for wearing white shoes.
September 7th, 2006 at 1:03 pm
Hi Greta….our kids played football at the YMCA in Owasso together a while back…geez, I guess it was 2004??
On the white shoes, straw bag issue…I personally am one to go against the grain, but for some reason, I just CANNOT wear white shoes or “do” summery purses after Labor Day. It’s just normal and natural to me, like wearing black to funerals (yes, I really do this, and carry a real hankie in my purse as well!). I remember dating a wealthy guy from “A Very Good Family” in college, and HE even “got on to me” for wearing white KEDS after Labor Day!! (Okay, I thought that was really stupid….I mean, we were college kids, and they were freakin’ Keds!) Maybe it’s more of a Southern thing? It’s not a class/money thing, since I’m from a VERY middle class family who never went to operas or plays or nothin’ like that. We weren’t “fancy”. LOL
I have a book somewhere, I think the title is “A Southern Belle’s Guide” or something similar, and they tell a story about a member of the royal family from England that visited in the South, but was wearing white shoes after Labor Day….she really got creamed in the local press. The royalty’s press came back with something like “England doesn’t have such seasonal rules.” The Southern people were miffed that she didn’t know the rule. I thought that was hilarious.
I think it might just be a matter of sort of fitting in with the season. How many people wear Hawaiian shirts on a normal day in winter? Wear all black in summer? (Well, unless you’re in NYC? LOL)
By the way, “winter white” is acceptable after Labor Day, of course. I have a pair of white heels, but I bring out my winter white (or “bone”, if you must) for after Labor Day. I just switch out my cute straw/white/etc. bags and white shoes with my neat “fall” type stuff. (Like anything with houndstooth fabric, etc. on it.) I also switch out tanks, short skirts, etc. with sweaters, fall/winter stuff, but only when it gets REALLY cold.
It’s sort of a ritual, really. Maybe that’s the whole point of it.
December 5th, 2006 at 1:23 pm
I only have white sneakers too–no, wait…I do have some white thong sandals, but I never wore them! And I NEVER would at the wrong time of year!
September 3rd, 2007 at 4:37 am
[...] All the intelligent stuff I write *snicker* and this is probably my most Googled post from last year. Enjoy! [...]
June 1st, 2009 at 7:37 am
[...] Hooah Wife and friends Blog Archive Good bye white shoes Posted by root 6 minutes ago (http://hooahwife.com) Ditto what teach said i had to switch themes to comment what is a nurse to do go barefoot that does not seem hygenic hooah wife and friends is powered by wordpress 2 3 1 and delivered to you in 0 949 seconds Discuss | Bury | News | Hooah Wife and friends Blog Archive Good bye white shoes [...]
July 5th, 2009 at 8:15 am
That was a nice read.
July 27th, 2009 at 10:09 pm
thank for your sharing. good information